Dundee sales hunters turned out in their droves yesterday in a bid to bag some early Boxing Day bargains.
While official numbers are still to come through, an estimated 50,000 shoppers were expected through the doors of Dundee’s Overgate centre.
Manager Malcom Angus revealed deal hunters were already in and taking advantage of early bird offers when he arrived for work at 8am.
“It was a slow start when I first came in but there were a few shoppers about and it really started to ramp up over the day,” he said.
“Next started their sale at around 6am and a lot of retailers piggy backed on that so from about 11am onwards, it really picked up.
“Around 90% of our retailers started their sales on Boxing Day so there are a lot of bargains on offer.”
Almost one in two adults across Scotland hit their local high street yesterday, blowing a record £380million — the nation’s biggest-spending day ever.
Retailers estimate around £704,00 was spent every minute with shoppers queuing from the early hours to get their pick of the bargains.
Gordon McKinnon is operations director for intu — one of Britain’s biggest shopping centre owners with 14 malls including Braehead, near Glasgow.
He said: “It was a Boxing Day bonanza with well over a million visitors and shoppers across the UK braving early-morning winter weather to have first pick of the bargains.”
Bargain hunter Claire Reilly-Robertson left for the shops at 5am but said she managed to save around £110.
“Getting there early is the best way to get what you want because it gets really busy,” she said.
“I got a new winter coat, a few jumpers and a few pairs of jeans but I was definitely glad to get back home.”
A Barclaycard poll found months of “feeling the squeeze” this year resulted in many consumers looking forward to the sales to help ease their budgets.
Paul Lockstone, managing director at Barclaycard, said: “Last year, Black Friday overshadowed Boxing Day sales as many retailers struggled to maintain consumer interest in what has become a month-long discounting event.
“This year, however, value-seeking consumers appear to be more eager to buy cut-price items across both sales periods as they try to combat rising prices.”
